Cybertruck, crossbow and beach vacations: How feds say a California Botox doctor spent $45 million in Medicare fraud
This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.
See more from the L.A.Times in Google Search.
Set us as preferred A Glendale doctor who fraudulently billed more than $45 million in Botox injections to Medicare and used the proceeds to fund a lavish lifestyle was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in federal prison.Violetta Mailyan, 45, was convicted in May of nine counts of wire fraud and three counts of obstruction of an investigation of a healthcare offense, as she attempted to mislead federal agents.Prosecutors said Mailyan was involved in an elaborate fraud scheme that ignored Medicare’s rules for Botox coverage and brazenly fabricated medical records.Mailyan was the owner-operator of Healthy Way Medical Center, a clinic that claimed to provide beauty and cosmetic services, according to the Department of Justice press office.
A federal probe by the Office of Inspector General and the FBI presented evidence that found Mailyan billed and received Medicare payments for thousands of Botox injections that were never provided.California Prosecutors allege the Glendale-based doctor submitted more than $45 million in fraudulent Medicare claims for Botox injections, using the payments to fund a lavish lifestyle.“Mailyan also billed for providing Botox injections when she was actually on vacation in Mexico, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Pennsylvania, and New York at various times throughout her fraud scheme,” the Justice Department said.
“For example, Mailyan billed over $200,000 for purportedly providing Botox services to patients in California when she was actually relaxing on the beach in Cabo.”Prosecutors said when federal investigators were closing in, Mailyan falsified medical records and forged Medicare beneficiary signatures, including for a man in federal prison during the time the doctor claimed to have provided treatment.The investigation also found that Mailyan used the Medicare payments to fund many of the vacations...